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Diversity Fund

The Diversity Fund supports EBI’s mission and core values by reducing financial barriers for current EBI families, supporting diversity-related programs, and signifying EBI’s commitment to diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusivity. The Fund is primarily designated to support families that enrich EBI’s diversity, based on EBI’s current diversity-related goals.* The Fund also enhances community and learning by funding workshops and projects of faculty, students, staff, and families that increase engagement related to diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusivity. Promotion of the Fund will help build awareness within EBI and in the broader community both of EBI’s commitment to these values and that a concrete instrument exists to support that commitment.

For more information about the Fund please see the Discussion of the Diversity Fund (below), and Frequently Asked Questions (below). To access the application form, click here. To access the family application form, click here. If you would like to make a donation, please follow this link.

Discussion of the Diversity Fund

Diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusivity are among EBI’s central founding principles. These values include the composition of EBI (parent/student body, EBI’s leadership and school volunteers), affirmative rejection of systemic barriers to equity and justice, embrace of our international community, and fostering of a community in which all members feel valued and empowered, and in which they are equal stakeholders. They are evidenced in the curriculum, school policies and the educational outcomes for EBI’s students. Along with maintaining excellent bilingual standards and upholding the demands for expertise inherent in the International Baccalaureate, EBI is committed to establishing and measuring our progress toward meaningful benchmarks for diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusivity. While money from tuition and the annual fund support many diversity-related goals, members of the EBI community want to do more. For this reason parents worked with EBI administration and Board of Trustees to create the EBI Diversity Fund in 2013. The Fund is supported entirely by private donations, including from individuals and families who wish to give beyond their Annual Fund commitment.

EBI’s Diversity Fund supports EBI’s mission and core value of diversity in two important ways.

First, the Diversity Fund is primarily designated to reduce financial barriers to EBI’s unique educational experience. Specifically the Fund is intended to support current families that enrich EBI’s diversity. A committee evaluates applicants’ eligibility for an award. Among the criteria the committee may consider is whether a family meaningfully enriches EBI’s diversity by virtue of their national origin, religion, ethnicity, race, family structure, different abilities, native language, gender identity, sexual orientation, and/or support for EBI’s diversity-related efforts and current diversity goals. Existing EBI families are eligible to apply beginning in December 2016. Awards are for a single year. A family may apply more than once but the Fund cannot guarantee awards beyond one year. The application can be found here (not live until 12/2016).

Second, the Diversity Fund enhances community and learning by funding workshops and projects that increase engagement related to diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusivity. Initiatives are sought from all members of the EBI community. Faculty, students, staff, and families may apply for funding for activities, events, studies, speakers, professional development opportunities and more. Creative suggestions are welcome, and you may submit applications at any time. The application is available here.

EBI hopes that promotion of the Diversity Fund will help build community awareness both of EBI’s commitment to diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusivity, and that a concrete instrument exists for interested parties to support that commitment. You may donate to the Diversity Fund on EBI’s webpage. Under ‘Support EBI’, click on “Special Funds” and you will find a button for the Diversity Fund. You are also welcome to donate through the Development Office. Be sure to mark your donation “Diversity Fund” to direct it to the correct account.

Diversity Fund Frequently Asked Questions

Are tuition dollars supporting the Diversity Fund?

No. The Diversity Fund is funded by gifts from individuals and families, and private grants. The Fund is completely supported through private donations.

Who can apply to the fund?

The Fund supports diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusivity at EBI in two ways: a) tuition support and b) project funding.

The Fund accepts applications from current families who enhance diversity at EBI either through their identity or their committed work to this core value, and who are facing financial barriers to continued enrollment despite, in most cases, having already applied for an adjusted tuition through EBI’s Tuition Adjustment Program. The Diversity Fund could potentially provide a one-time award to mitigate the family’s financial barriers. While families are welcome to apply for awards in subsequent years,the fund does not commit to support for more than a year. In other words, it is a “fix” for a tuition gap for that one year only.

The Fund accepts applications from current faculty, students, staff, and families to support projects and activities that enhance diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusivity at EBI. Activities that might qualify for a grant from the fund include: hosting a movie on the disability rights movement followed by a panel discussion, purchasing tickets for students to attend a special exhibit at the Asian Art museum, or support for a student club to build a float to participate in a LGBTQIF parade. Examples of activities that would not qualify include: basketball team uniforms, supplies for a robotics club, a speaker on dark matter in deep space.

What are the criteria for a project that promotes diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusivity?

The Fund is committed to building diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusivity. EBI recognizes that in our society access to opportunities and full membership is often inequitable and can depend on whether people fall within dominant cultural norms related to language, race, nationality, gender, and socioeconomic status. Individuals who fall outside these norms may be underrepresented at EBI and in independent schools generally. The Fund supports the goal of educating students about the lives and experiences of such people. The Fund intends to erode barriers to opportunity and to full participation. For example: people who enjoy dogs as pets generally do not have a history of being excluded from participation in community life based on their dog-loving status. A workshop on learning about dogs is unlikely to garner support from the fund. People with disabilities do have a history of being excluded and oppressed by mainstream U.S. culture. A workshop about how some people with disabilities use companion animals might receive support from the Fund.

Who will decide which families receive an award?

Families seeking support to pay tuition will submit an application explaining their circumstances. This is private information that must and will be handled confidentially.

Who will decide which projects receive an award?

A committee of parents and faculty/staff reviews applications to fund activities, events and projects that enhance diversity multiculturalism, and inclusivity. Committee members will serve for a full year and review applications as they are received throughout the year.

How many times might someone receive an award?

Tuition: It is expected that most of the funding will go to families needing support to pay tuition. It is also expected that there will be insufficient funds to cover all applications. A family is welcome to apply more than once but the fund makes commitments to support a family only for one year.

Projects: The funding available for events and activities will be distributed throughout the year. Up to 10 projects can be sponsored within a year.

If I meet the criteria for a tuition support award, am I guaranteed to receive one?

No. The Diversity Fund is completely dependent on donations, which will fluctuate from year to year. Accordingly, an awards committee must make difficult decisions based on factors such as whether an award will meaningfully mitigate the applicant's financial barriers, how the applicant family enhances the diversity of the school, and the school's current diversity-related goals. Unfortunately, some families may not receive awards, despite being highly qualified applicants and valued members of the EBI community.